Professor McNeal is an expert in law and public policy with a focus on security, technology and crime. He teaches criminal law, criminal procedure, and courses related to national security and public policy.

His current research projects include a book focused on the investigation and prosecution of national security related crimes (under contract with Oxford University Press), a book about targeted killings (grant funded), and a book about the emergent civilian drone market. His law review articles have been published by or are forthcoming in The Georgetown Law Journal (winner of an article of the year award), The Northwestern University Law Review Colloquy, The Washington and Lee Law Review, and The Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy among others. He is a co-author of the casebook Anti-Terrorism and Criminal Enforcement (with Norman Abrams, 4th Edition Supplement and 5th Edition), co-editor of Saddam On Trial: Understanding and Debating the Iraqi High Tribunal (with Michael Scharf) and is the editor of a forthcoming treatise Cybersecurity and Privacy.

Pepperdine's School of Law provides a superior legal education that aligns personal values with areas of interest, such as dispute resolution, religion, public interest, criminal, and entertainment law.